He won't know
by Masaki-Hanabusa
Summary: Balthier gets injured when protecting Vaan in the Paramina Rift. When the two are left alone when the others leaving for supplies, what will happen?  Bal/Vaan


A/N: Ah I've been meaning to post this up for a while. I actually wrote this for homework and I got a pretty nice score on it. Anyway, when I wrote this I never could really put Vaan in the story. The Vaan in the story does not feel like Vaan at all. Gah, this is horrible.

Oh I have an alternate version of this one I did with Ashe (since my teacher wasn't too fond of the couple). I'm debating if I should post that one up as well.

Well anyway, this is a gift Balthierfan6828. Thanks for everything and hope you have a wonderful holiday. Sorry I could get this out sooner.

Well anyway, I hope you enjoy this and please review!

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><p>Vaan was slowly losing feeling in his limbs as he wrapped his vest closer to his body in a feeble attempt to warm himself up. The fire he had managed to start was slowly dying down and the cave was begining to become as freezing as it was outside. The desert boy had been in the cold before, for nights could get chilly in Rabanstre, but snow had been too mch for him to handle.<p>

He really did hate the Paramina Rift.

Vaan looked across dying embers to Balthier, who was looking out of the mouth of the cave at the raging blizzard. The younger boy felt a twinge of guilt as his eyes moved to the sky pirates chest, which was deep red from his injuries, deep gashes and claw marks. It had been Vaan's fault he had gotten hurt so badly.

His reflexes had been dulled by the painful cold, making it hard for him to fight or defend himself against a pack of white wolves that had ambushed them. He would've been killed had Balthier not've taken the attack for him, earning the brunette sky pirate deep bite marks in his arms and deep, agonizing gash across his chest. Balthier had protested that he was fine and the only harm done was to his clothes, which was quickly disproved when he almost collaspsed from the substantial blood loss. Fran would have healed him, for she was the best at white magic, but a storm was snow storm was begging to pick up, which could only mean the appearance of elementals. Any magic would cause them to attack mercilessly and chances were they would not survive the onslaught. Having used up the rest of their supplies, the group broke off into two. Basch, Penelo, and Ashe had decided to return to Mt. Bur-Omisace to purchase potions, which would help them greatly. Fran and Vaan had decided, since Balthier was in no position to travel, to stay with the man until they returned or the snow storm died down, whichever came first. Fran had left not long ago, tired of waiting, to see if she could find any potions buried in the snow from previous travelers, leaving Vaan alone with the elder pirate.

He knew fire magic, but since the elementals would sense it if he did, the boy threw in a few red fangs he had in his pockets into the flickering embers, bringing it back to life.

"Are you cold?" Vaan jumped slightly for Balthier had remained silent since they had arrived in the cave and the suddenness of him speaking surpised him. Balthier chuckled slightly at the boys reaction. Vaan shook his head, hoping the pirate would not seen his violent shivers from across the fire. Unfortunately for the blond, that hope was cut quite shirt.

"You're a bad liar," Balthier smirked trying to stand up like he wasn't in any pain, leaning against the wall for support. The tall man walked around the fire and slowly sat down beside the shaking desert boy. He winced as he idiotically tried to use his injured arm for support. Balthier sighed and took off his heavily embroidered vest, dropping it on the boy's head. Vaan looked up confused.

"Here, this should be warm enough,"Balthier said resting his head back against the stone.

"Won't you be cold though?" Vaan managed to say, teeth chattering.

"I'm fine," Balthier assured, pulling at his collar with his jeweled hand. "This is plenty warm enough. You on the other hand look like you're about to turn into a giant popsicle at any moment." Vaan gave a small laugh at the comment. He gave in and wrapped himself in in the man's vest, wrapping his arms around his waist underneath. He knew that Balthier was far taller than him, but he never really noticed how much bigger he was compared to him. It was definatly warm, bringing feeling back into his fingers.

The two remained silent as they both watched the flames danced, waiting hopefully that Fran or Basch and the others to return with some sort of treatment, for by the expression on the man's face the pain was getting worse.

Vaan noticed the strong scent of blood on Balthier's vest, though oddly enough the boy could smell other aromas from the material, though not as strongly. Something similar to exotic spices and cologne. He never would have guessed how calming Balthier's scent was, or that he would have noticed it at all. Vaan breathed in deeply. He glanced up at the pirate who was looking a tad pale, staring off into the fire concealing his agony. Noticing Vaan's odd stare, Balthier finally looked back at him.

"What is it?" Balthier asked, not being one who liked being stared at.

"...you have nice eyes," Vaan mumbled, burying his face in the warm material, feeling his face burning up. It was a quiet statement, which Balthier would not have heard if not for the enormous quiet, save for a few crackling embers.

"P-pardon? I don't think I heard right," Balthier said, not sure if he had heard right. Vaan peeked up from the collar, looking up at the brunette.

"I said you have nice eyes," Vaan managed to say, a light pink tint to his cheeks. "They're kind of pretty." Balthier had heard right, and had no idea how to respond to something like that. Vaan was mentally kicking himself that he had actually said that.

"Thanks," Balthier muttered. Vaans gaze refocused on the burning fire, though he had another question on the back of his mind.

"Your mother or father?" Vaan asked vaguely.

"Pardon?"

"Your eyes. They're a deep brown. Did you get that from your mother or father?" Vaan glanced up at Balthier who was silent. He noticed that he wore an almost pained expression that didn't seem to be from his wounds. After a moment, he answered.

"My mother, I think," he said softly.

"You think?" Balthier went back to being silent, seeming to mull over the answer he had given. He eventually tried to stand up, not addressing Vaan's curiosity. The desert boy caught him by the sleeve.

"Hey, you've moved already more than you should," Vaan protested, trying to get him to sit back down. Balthier yanked his arm away, obviously irritable.

"I'm perfectly fine," Balthier spar, though his winces made his argument not all that believable. Vaan, not willing to let him hurt himself further, yanked the sky pirate back down by his bloody red sleeve. Unfortunately, he yanked a little too hard for the back of Balthier's head was suddenly smashing into the wall of the frozen cave. Balthier gripped his head and swore under his breath, shooting a terrifying glare at the panicking boy.

"Er- I'm s-sorry!"  
>"I"m going to kill you, you damn brat!" Balthier growled, his eyesight going blurry. He was already dizzy from bloodloss and this was not helping in the least. "Where the hell is Fran?"<p>

"Just be a little patient. She'll be back soon," Vaan assure, also wishing the Viera would return with or without potions. The quicker she, since she was must quicker than the others, returned, the quicker he'd be able to avoid the pirate's wrath.

Vaan let a small yelp escape when something pressed against his shoulder, namely Balthier. He wasn't moving, but luckily Vaan noticed his slight breathing, which was warm against his cheek. He had just slipped into unconsiousness.

Vaan, not knowing someone with a possible concussion should be kept awake, couldn't help think the man actually didn't look like an ass. In fact, he looked rather handsome.

Vaan felt his cheeks burn brighter and hotter at his own thoughts, which he didn't know why he was having them and wanted to shove Balthier right off him before his mind had anymore unwanted thoughts. The only thing preventing him was him was the fact the man was injured because of him and that the Balthier was actually quite warm. With his free hand, for the other was hard to free from the vest, he gently wiped a droplet of melting snow from his forehead.

Where the hell was Basch or Fran already?

Vaan stared at the man, both hoping he would and wouldn't wake up soon so he would no longer be subjugated to the strange fluttering in his stomach. It was absolute torture. He could feel the rise and fall of Balthier's chest against him and his breath against his cheek. Vaan's gazed up to his face, facial features sharper than those of most Dalmascans. His accent definetly not of the desert country. He wasn't nearly as tan as the boy, which made Vaan wonder where the sky pirate was actually from. His eyes, as he examined the older man's face, slowly went to his lips.

Vaan couldn't contemplate what in Ivalice was wrong with him. Without even really thinking about it, he found himself pressing his lips against Balthier's, which were surprisingly soft. It was quick and thankfully the man did not stir, though nothing probably would make him for some while. He resisted not to give him another kiss. But it was not like he would remember it anyway, since he was out the entire time. He tilted his head up again and was about to kiss the unconsious man.

"Oh, how very touching." Vaan near jumped as Fran watched mildly amused from the mouth of the cave. He had been too fluttered with the situation to realize that the Viera was even there. He dreaded the idea of finding out how long she had been standing there.

"How long have y-" Vaan attempted to speak up, but Fran put her hand up to stop him. She tossed a few potions down into the boy's free hand. She brushed a large clump of snow from her silver hair and tall ears.

"Do not worry. I will pretend I saw nothing," Fran said with a slight smile, moving her partner off the younger boy, opening up a potion with her long fingers and pouring the contents into Balthier's mouth. "It is not nearly enough to heal him fully, but it will do for now. We shall wait for the weather."

It was about an hour until Basch, Ashe, and Penelo returned with a large supply of pheonix downs, potions, and food. By then, the blizzard had drastically died down. Now with magic at their disposal, healing the deeper wounds only took moments, though the expensive clothes were in bloody tatters, which threw Balthier into a fit later on.

Not too long after being cured did the sky pirate begin to wake. The first thing he did when he was up was throwing the nearest rock he could grab at Vaan's head.

"Ow! What the hell?" Vaan groaned as the rock struck him in the head. Luckily, Baltier was still rather weak so the rock didn't hurt that much. Balthier sat up and rubbed the back of his head, which was now a dull throb.

"That's for smashing my head in, you little brat," the man growled, trying to stand up, nearly falling back down if not for Fran, catching him by the arm.

"Hey I was trying to help."  
>"You still knocked me out whether you were trying to help me or not."<p>

"Silence. It matters not. The others wait for us outside. We should leave now while the weather is on our side," Fran said flatly, tired of the bickering. She release Balthier's arm and made her way to join the others who waited patiently outside in the snow. Vaan sighed, knowing she made a good point. The boy grabbed the vest Balthier had given to him and handed it back to the pirate.

"Here." Balthier looked over the bloody vest for a minute before tossing it back to him.

"We still have some time until we reach that shrine, and I really don't want to go through all this again because you're too cold to fight. Besides, it's no use of me now, all ruined like that," Balthier shrugged, fixing his own shirt. Vaan's blushed again, but either Balthier didn't notice or care enough to say anything and put the warm garment on again. With a stretch, the pirate was ready to go again.

"Gah, it still hurts," the pirate grumbled, shooting a glare. "At least I feel a little more rested now."  
>"Have any good dreams? I'm guessing about women?" Vaan joked, letting the pirate use him as an armrest for the time being, the chilly wind hitting their skins. Much to Vaan's surprise, Balthier's cheeks went rosy.<p>

"Not exactly. It was pleasant though," Balthier removed himself from the boy, his jeweled finger running along his own lips. Penelo waved at the two men, urging them to hurry up. Balthier gave a glance at the Dalmascan boy and sighed. "No matter. Dreams are only dreams. Let's be off shall we?"

Balthier walked on ahead of Vaan, who was a little confused by Balthier's action, touching his lips like that. He couldn't mean...

"Nah, he was out like a light," Vaan assured himself with a laugh. Noticing he was going to be left behind by the others who were already walking off, Vaan rushed after then, inhaling deeply the aroma of the sky pirate's vest.

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><p>AN: God this was so hard to type up for some unknowable reason. I know I confused my teacher with a lot of the stuff I put. No one in my school seems to know the joy of Final Fantasy.

I put that Balthier has his mothers eyes (he doesn't remember his mother enough to know for certain) because I couldn't remember if Cidolfus had brown eyes or not.

Well, hoped you all like this! And happy holidays to all!  
>Please review if you can. That'd be the greatest present I'd recieve!<p> 


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